Don't let the bad guys get you
by nish0
Summary: A moment before Aizen's revolt. Gin asks, in his own way, Rangiku's permission to continue on his path. Rated T, cause I'm a bit paranoid.


**Don't let the bad guys get you.**

It had been a long day for Matsumoto Rangiku. After much planning and organizing, the party that was her responsibility, has finally turn out to be a success and it appears that everyone is having a good time. The afternoon's entertainment has so far been a great hit, especially the amount of alcohol that was available. Well, letting her plan a party meant an endless flow of alcohol is a widely known fact. She could hear the happy yelling, shouts, singing and dancing of her drunk friends.

She should be there too but she's tired. She wanted to take a break before someone starts belching or fighting, so she took refuge under the tree next to the river. The sun has set already, leaving the afterglow that still tinged the sky with orange and gold, few stars have already started twinkling. The perimeter of the city's buildings end few meters away from the river, and after that it's just green grass, little bushes and very occasional trees. She picked on of them and laid her body under it.

Using her hands as pillows she rested her head and closed her eyes. If she wants to, she can open them and the first thing she will see is the sky in between the branches of the big tree.

It was relaxing, the cool breeze of summer evening. Her muscles feel rested and the soreness is slowly disappearing. Only thing that can perturb her peace is if a hollow shows up and starts throwing tantrums. But it was too soon to feel that way.

Suddenly she heard a voice with a snicker, _"_Whatchu doin' there, Rangiku-san?_"_

She jerked open her eyes to see Ichimaru Gin, the captain of the third squad, looking down from one of the branches right on top of her, his white cloak flowing. She felt her body stiffen and her instinct was to move it. But she didn't. She bit her tongue and kept her cool.

She closed her eyes like she's completely indifferent to his presence and answered with a neglect in her voice, "Enjoying the quiet."

Again, the familiar chuckle, "My my! You _have_ changed. Since when do you prefer the quiet, instead of being in the middle of a party?"

She tried her best to not to let out any emotion on her face. She kept her eyes closed and body still. "Since always, it's not like you know much about me."

A figurative kick in the nuts. A flashback played at the back on Gin's head. His mind raced back to another time when both of them were young and happy. He remembered when other children would play with her and she was also happy with them. But Gin was never invited, he would hide behind the trees and watch her play. When she waved him to come, he would turn around and leave. Sometimes won't come back for days.

He swallowed the mockery with his usual smile and silently landed at her side. Her heart sped a little. But she won't let him get any emotion out of her. She could tell he sat down right next to her, almost touching, but not really.

_"_A little touchy, are we"?

She could hear the sneer in his voice which made her skin crawl with anger and irritation. But she won't let him win. She kept her face untroubled and maintained the calmness on her face.

"Maybe it's the heat, dontcha think?" his jeering continued. _"_Might wanna try wearing looser clothing. They look a bit too tight on you these days"

Rangiku gritted her teeth. _How dare him!_ She gathered all her self-control to not to give him any satisfaction by letting him get on her nerves. She needs a mean blow.

_"_Why? Are you concerned that a helpless young girl like me might get the wrong kind of attention from men? Beauty wasn't given to be kept uncovered, it should be for everyone to see"

She opened the corner of her eyes a little to see that the smile on his face turned into a frown for a second. She closed her eyes in satisfaction.

Gin's old memory corrupted his usual unfazed posture when he remembered the first time he saw her with her clothes off. Seems like centuries has passed since that day. It was very soon after she joined the squad. He saw her amongst the new recruits and stopped on the track. He saw her watching him from a distance too but she never approached him. He knew why. But he lost the hold of his own self-control. Day after day he watched her happily hanging around other recruits, making friends and he found himself frequently losing his concentration on his work. One day while accidentally(!) finding himself standing in front of her door and seeing her lights on, he knocked. Her standing there looking at him was equally surprising to him as it was for her. "Gin?" she exclaimed. It was probably the second happiest moment of his life. The first would be the day he found her. So he let go of all the voices at the back of his mind and cornered her against the wall. His forgot all the resolve, self-control, promises and his decision to keep her away when she kissed him back with equal amount of passion. And that was the first and the last time he slipped the cloths off her with his own hands. That night, all of her beauty was for his eyes only. But that was a lifetime ago.

He came back to reality and his grinning smile came back with him. He loves playing word games with her, because he knows how hard it is for her to keep her cool. She will soon get irritated.

"Is that right, Rangiku-san? So how many admiring pair of eyes has seen the "beauty uncovered"? You made it sound like there has been a lot."

That was the critical point for her. She has reached her limit and she sat up in a haste to challenge his grinning face. "Who are you to come around and start advising me on how to dress and where to be? What is it to you... Gin? Mind your own…._ "_

In a blink the grin on his face changed it into something serious and it wasn't a few feet away from hers anymore. He was towering on top of her with his lips on hers, wildly letting go of all barriers of his passion that had been locked in for a very long time. Supporting his weight on his right hand placed on the grounds next to her, his other hand positioned at the back of her head.

All her anger, annoyance, ego, bitterness and hurt evaporated in that instant. She felt like she's melting and turning into clay that only he could shape into whatever he wants.

He moved his hand from the back of her head and he touched her face. With her eyes closed, Rangiku felt like she is one with the darkness, one with him. She felt her body shudder when his hands slipped down from her cheeks to her throat then down her neck, and finally towards the middle of her breast where the neckline of her kimono top is tied. Her skin shivered as his long cold fingers slowly slid inside the joining of the neckline, grabbed it slightly to pull her towards him by pulling onto her cloths. She complied. Like a hypnotized snake to a charmer, she followed him as he pulled her closer to him. He leaned back, while keeping the kiss intact, she moved her body in sync and rested her right hand on his broad chest.

After what seemed like a long, _long_ time, their lips parted and he moved on to kissing her cheek and neck. She felt the soreness of her lips and the speed at which her heart was beating. She looked down without opening her eyes and kissed his strong shoulder.

_Why Gin? Why now? Why not before?_

She felt his free arm was gently caressing her hair and then down towards her back. He brushed the side of his face to hers and she could feel his warm breath on her neck.

Then she heard him speak softly against her ear, _"_Ran-chan!_"_ pausing for few seconds, _"_do you remember the little bird you saved once? When we were living in Rukongai?"

She suddenly opened her eyes. _Gin?_ _Is something wrong?_

He was still as gentle as ever. His soft sad voice whispered in her ears. "Do you remember how you fed it, kept it warm and protected it? "

She felt a weight of sadness covering up her heart. She remembers._ It died_.

"It died. You found its bloody body under a tree close to our shack. Some wild animal killed it. "

He took a long pause while brushing her face with his, and taking in smell of her hair with deep breath. His fingers are still entangled between her hairs.

"Don't you think if you could, you would have saved it from that wild animal? Don't you think if you had a chance to kill the animal before it could get to it, you would have?"

Rangiku let out a whimper and grabbed him close to her.

_Please don't leave again Gin. Please don't_.

He continued, "I would too. If I had something I wanted to protect, I would do anything to kill that enemy before it had the chance to harm it._"_

And that was it. Rangiku rested her face on his shoulder, trying to hold in a cry. After a brief pause he pulled himself away and touched her face to guide it in front of his own. He then looked deep into her eyes and kissed her again.

She kissed him back without any restraint, without any guilt, without any anger. She felt few drops of warm tear rolling down her cheek. She wanted this moment to never end. She wanted to never let him leave her arms. But he did.

After a while, he gently moved her aside and stood up. She couldn't move, like a statue she sat there looking down at the ground like a broken doll. Her heart can't take it anymore. She could hear his silent smile.

_"_Take care of yourself, Rangiku-san. Don't let the bad guys get you._"_

And a second later he was gone.

Rangiku sat there for another few minutes. The pain inside her chest is too heavy, too persistent. She wanted this pain to disappear. She wanted to hate him, but she doesn't know where to begin.

"Gin_."_

Gin sat on the roof of one of the building in Seireitei. Not very far from the river. He could faintly make out Rangiku's shadowy figure under the tree, still in the same position he left her. She didn't move for another few minutes. Then he saw her going back to lying down again with her hands under her head. This time her eyes were wide open.

He looked away to the horizon. It's time to go back to his room. He has Rangiku's approval, he can now leave. He can follow the path he chose decades ago to protect the thing he loved the most.

The End

29/5/2013


End file.
